Life Science II Question 20 Marked as 'All Correct'... Evaluation Director Kang Tae-jung Resigns (Summary)

Life Science II 'No Correct Answer', All Marked Correct
Evaluation Institute: "No Plans to Appeal Despite Admission Schedule Delay"
Institute Head Resigns Voluntarily Taking Responsibility
Plans to Improve College Entrance Exam Appeal Review System and Other Measures

Among the examinees who raised an objection to question 20 in the Life Science II section of the CSAT science inquiry area, Im Junha (left) and Shin Dongwook are expressing their stance on the plaintiff's victory in the first trial ruling to cancel the decision on the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test answer key at the Seoul Administrative Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) accepted the court's ruling to cancel the correct answer for Life Science II and decided not to appeal, treating all answers to question 20 as correct. Kang Taejung, the president of KICE, took responsibility for the incident and resigned.

On the 15th, after the court ruling to cancel the correct answer for Life Science II was issued, KICE held a briefing and announced that question 20 would be processed as 'no correct answer.' The scores and grading results treating all answers to question 20 as correct will be posted on the website at 6 p.m. that day.

The president of KICE took responsibility for the court ruling and voluntarily resigned. President Kang Taejung said, "I accept the court ruling with a heavy and humble heart, and above all, I sincerely apologize to all examinees, parents, teachers, and the public," and expressed his intention to resign, leaving the briefing room two minutes later.

According to the court ruling, all answers to question 20 will be treated as correct. Kim Dongyoung, head of the KICE College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) headquarters, said, "Since the decision to cancel the correct answer for number 5, which we had announced as correct, was made, we plan to recalculate and provide the scores with the 'no correct answer' disposition."

KICE also decided not to appeal the first trial ruling. Head Kim said, "The university entrance schedule is urgent, and this lawsuit has caused delays in the planned schedule, so we are not considering an appeal," adding, "We are receiving instructions related to the lawsuit from the Ministry of Justice, so we will inform related agencies of our position and make a final decision not to appeal."

Regarding the issue that students who initially submitted answer 5 as correct might see their standard scores drop due to this ruling, KICE stated that this cannot be considered 'damage.' Head Kim said, "If the admissions process had already proceeded, there would be students who answered correctly and those who did not, but since the scores have not yet been notified, the final correct answer is determined, and students who answered correctly will be identified," adding, "As the institution that failed to create a perfectly flawless question, we deeply apologize and take full responsibility."

Amid controversy over a question error leading to the postponement of the answer decision for question 20 in the Life Science II section of the 2022 College Scholastic Ability Test, examinees are receiving their score reports on the 10th at Gyeongbok High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

KICE also acknowledged shortcomings in the process of reviewing the error in question 20. Previously, KICE stated that even if the question's conditions were incomplete, it would not affect the ability to distinguish academic achievement levels.

Head Kim said, "We need to further investigate why such a problem occurred in question creation, including reviewing the capabilities and role distribution of the review committee," adding, "Since it was a high-difficulty question, the solving process was complex, and the reviewers seemed to have judged that unnecessary conditions in the solving process could be ignored."

KICE decided to improve the objection review system related to CSAT questions in light of this incident. After the controversy over the CSAT question error, there were criticisms that KICE did not publicize the problem or seek opinions from various experts.

Head Kim said, "We tried to hear more expert opinions than the prescribed objection procedure and explained to the court, but we accept that there were shortcomings," adding, "We will comprehensively review the overall aspects to identify deficiencies and improve the objection review system to eliminate distrust."

Furthermore, KICE clarified the controversy regarding the advisory role given to academic societies to which KICE officials belong for the error question.

Head Kim said, "Currently, the organizations KICE requests for objections are representative academic societies recognized for their expertise and scale in academia, and researchers inevitably participate in these societies," adding, "However, researchers do not participate in the advisory process, and we have requested that advisory committees be composed without stakeholders such as examinees and parents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.